Cookies on the Arsenal WebsiteWe use cookies to improve your browsing experience and help us improve our websites. We and carefully selected third parties use cookies to show you more relevant ads online. For more information, please click here. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our use of such cookies.

Jebb - Extra year was a massive boost

Jack Jebb believes his extra year in Arsenal’s academy could prove vital in his development at the Club.

The 16-year-old left school one year early to train full time at London Colney last season and played seven times for the Under-18s before his scholarship began.

The midfielder scored for an Arsenal XI side against Chesham United on Saturday and the talented youngster wants to ensure he continues to remain one step ahead.

“It was nice to get some opportunities in the Under-18s last season because it was all good experience,” he told Arsenal.com. “The next stage for me is the reserves so hopefully I will get some more games there if I can.

“It was a tough decision to leave school one year early but when I got offered the chance to train full-time I just thought, 'why not?' I want to be a footballer and the opportunity was too good to resist.

“Me and Chuba [Akpom] are almost a year ahead of the other boys in our own age group so that is obviously going to help us for the future. I think we have a great squad and we have a good chance of winning both the league and Youth Cup.”

Jebb was one of six first-year scholars involved in Saturday’s victory at The Meadow and was heavily involved throughout as Terry Burton’s youngsters claimed an impressive 6-2 victory.

His goal, a well-struck effort from outside the area, was a result of playing with the freedom provided by Burton, according to the midfielder.

“I try to be a creative central midfielder who likes going forward and having shots,” he said. “While scoring is always nice I like to create opportunities for other players if I can.

“Terry is a good manager and gives us a lot of freedom to do what we want on the pitch. Here I just tried my luck from distance and luckily it went in for me.

“I am really enjoying pre-season so far. I am getting much fitter and am just taking every game as it comes. It was my second game of the summer and I thought I did fine.”

Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source

Please ensure you enter the correct Date of Birth as it will be required if you need to reset your password

Please ensure that you enter your parents email address and click here to review our privacy policy for those who are under 13. Please note that an email address can only be used once to register as a Digital Member so you cannot register for both an adult and junior membership under the same email address.

Mobile Number

* Country

* State

Language Preference

* Postcode

* Email Address

* Confirm Email Address

* Password

* Confirm Password

Get all the news from Arsenal.com

Weekly E-Newsletter (only in English)I would like to receive the weekly e-newsletter which includes match reviews and offers from The Arsenal Football Club plc and its commercial partners.

Club Information and Offers (only in English)I would like to receive information and offers relating to The Arsenal Football Club plc.

Offers and Information about Commercial Partners (only in English)I would like to receive information and offers relating to The Arsenal Football Club plc's commercial partners.For further details, see our Privacy Policy or write to us at Data Protection Officer, The Arsenal Football Club PLC, 75 Drayton Park, London N5 1BU